Russell Brand Takes Sean Hannity To Task Over His Views On Israel / Palestine, Calls Him A Ken Doll

Russell Brand is still in full revolution mode it would seem, putting out over 100 episodes of The Trews on YouTube in an effort to stoke the burning inside the youth of the world, or something like that. I’m still waiting on the mass demonstrations and weenie roasts.

We’ve talked about it before and how Brand deconstructed an entire Fox News segment by saying the network was “more dangerous than ISIS.” A bold statement, probably a bit too specific and hyperbolic in the grand scheme, but it works to get his point across. He returns to the Fox sector of things this time around, namely Sean Hannity and his recent shouting match on the role of Hamas in the Israeli offensive on Gaza. Here’s the clip for that slice of wisdom and some key quotes for a refresher. From The Huffington Post:

Right-wing Hannity has struck an aggressively pro-Israeli line over its three-week offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 1,100 Palestinians, mainly civilians.

Hannity recently targeted his ire at Palestinian-American guest Yousef Munayyer in a segment branded “Sympathy For The Terrorists”.

The host shouted loudly, demanding to know: “Is Hamas a terrorist organisation? What part of this can’t you get through your thick head?”

Brand proceeds to go on a 12-minute rant that deconstructs the entire segment, leading off with the money quote comparing Hannity to the “Ken doll in the Toy Story 3 film.” The entire thing is alright, especially if that’s your sort of thing, but it raises some questions for me.

Where is this aiding anything or progressing us forward? If you read the comments of Russell Brand’s video (keep it short), you’ll see a lot of in-fighting and bickering. The same kind you see on Hannity and the same kind you’re basically getting from Brand here. It’s entertaining and funny, but isn’t it the same old record?

I’ve made fun of Fox News before, the entire site has at one point or the other. But we also don’t claim to be sparking revolution or defending America’s freedom. We’re yipping terriers vying for your attention.

If Brand wants to push change, why aim at Fox News? A pack of loud fools that have done nothing to aid in any positive change, unless you want to count sales at Chick-Fil-A.

It’s a big sh*tshow in Israel right now and while Ken doll comments will get people to watch, I don’t know where calling a guy a child will. Even if he is a giant man-baby that has hours of weekly paid media time to spew his views.

How about everyone just stop trying to kill each other and talk about a resolution? I saw Hamas had a few demandments on the table, maybe there could be a mediated discussion about that. Try doing that or just finish each other off, once and for all. That seems to be what you want to happen anyway. Why else would you continue to fire rockets and shell an area the size of a shopping mall, knowing full well you’re killing civilians. One side even called them before doing it.

I love Russell Brand but was really underwhelmed by this. Maybe it’s the format – it just came across very flat. I think Brand is better with a live audience or someone in person he plays off of (like with that amazing appearance on MSNBC). Just sitting and pointing at his laptop and repeating into the camera what we just saw wasn’t particularly effective and got boring rather quickly. There’s a recap podcast of Downton Abbey that does something like this, relies too heavily on literal stage re-countings of action and dialogue, i.e., “And the Anna did this. And then Robert came in and did that. And then Isis took a shit on the floor. And then Bates gave a look.” They’ll eventually get to a plateau where they go off on a substantive tangent about something specific and interesting but getting there is painfully slow.

I tend to agree Andrew. Jon Stewart has basically destroyed Fox News over and over in much better fashion than Brand will. What is this accomplishing? He’s not changing the minds of anyone who listens to and respects Hannity so what’s the point? I have enjoyed his recent political bent much more than I ever did his comedic ventures but this seems like an attempt to combine the two no? And a poor one at that.

Why do people always think by expressing pity towards someone you’re really digging into them hard. You’re not, they would have to have some modicum of respect for your opinion to think that your pity matters at all.

People who dismiss trolls in the same imperious way piss me off. You don’t really pity anyone, you’re just saying it in order to put yourself above them and get your dig in. You’re not better than them, you belong in the same pasture.

“How about everyone just stop trying to kill each other and talk about a resolution? I saw Hamas had a few demandments on the table, maybe there could be a mediated discussion about that.”

Without going into the history too much of the conflict this is actually the policy of Israel and has been for four decades now. Resist any form of peace, keep the conflict going and keep whittling away in order to gain the land that is of some value. There have been several instances of peace threatening to break out, it has been stopped consistently.

The “Peace Process” that American Presidents and officials go on about is pure propaganda. Because by definition everything that America (and as a result Israel) is involved in has to be about the “Peace Process.” We are always for Peace and Democracy, even when we attack immediately after a free election occurs. If people vote the wrong way, Democracy has failed and the Peace Process most come in and punish them.

Maybe we could put both Brand and Hannity into a rowboat together, tow it out to the middle of the Pacific, and pretend they both didn’t happen. If either one ever makes it back to civilization we could all be like “Who are you again? Nope, never heard of you. Cool story, though.”

People who want to jump all over Brand because he’s trying to present a rational counterpoint to the hyperbole of the FOX News-types of the world are the problem. It’s not FOX News that’s the problem. It’s not Russell Brand that’s the problem. YOU ARE THE PROBLEM.

@Coked Up Jesus, I appreciated the context in which you posted the video. I guess I’m the cheese alone on this post but I do think Brand is capable of energetic, dynamic thinking on political events and with that considered, this was a massive failure of opportunity. I might not have changed my opinion but I know he is capable of engaging on an intellectual level when he tries and this was just not an effort. This was a lazy “Fox Sucks!” webcam vid.

“Immediately after the title win, commentator Gorilla Monsoon proclaimed “Hulkamania is here!”. Hogan frequently referred to his fans as “Hulkamaniacs” in his interviews and introduced his three “demandments”: training, saying prayers, and eating vitamins. Eventually, a fourth demandment (believing in oneself) was added during his feud with Earthquake in 1990.”

What Brand, and many others, don’t realize is that when they directly attack Fox News or any of their personalities, they are playing right into their hands. Sean Hannity wants main-streamers and liberals to attack him, he needs you to. Because he and his base have named you the enemy. So it legitimizes him with his base that believes above all else, they are the oppressed and they are the victims.
When Brand posts a video like this, Hannity and all his followers get to go, “see, they hate us because we’re right. If we weren’t doing something right, losers like that wouldn’t hate us.”

Which is more important, posting a video to make yourself feel better that only reinforces the beliefs of the crazy people (you won’t change them anyway btw), or ignoring them outright?

In all seriousness, both sides will continue to believe the other side is pure evil and/or 100% wrong and will not rest. Even when the correct answer involves more shades of gray than EL James can ever think of.

Yeah, I like him and agree with him most of the time, but I sure wish he would broaden his horizons a bit instead of his every single video being a dissection of some Fox News clip. John Oliver’s done a great job of steering clear of that, because he knows his former associates at Comedy Central have that well-covered. Brand oughtta find some less-trodden ground.

Russel Brand isn’t always funny, but he’s right. Hannity is a clown, who never lets his guests speak if they don’t agree with him. Anyway, If you truly want to know about the history of the conflict, watch the award winning documentary by Israeli and American scholars called Occupation 101. It will change your mind about what’s happening.

Notice the way this report does not mention the word soldier at all . Also what does “mainly civilians” mean. Do they not have an exact tally on killed soldiers vs civilians like they do on the Israeli side . maybe it’s because Hamas is perfectly fine with using women and children as meat shields by using schools and mosques as weapons and soldier depots